Review: Conspiracy Game

Reviewed by Jen
 

Conspiracy Game is the book that, for me, changed the Ghostwalker series from an occasional library rental, to a must-own set of books.  In this fourth installment, we shift gears away from our original Ghostwalker unit, to focus on one of the SEAL Ghostwalkers, Jack Norton.  We met him very briefly in Night Game, but here his story is fleshed out.

The book opens with Jack held prisoner in the Congo. He was taken captive during a rescue mission for his twin brother Ken. Jack has been tortured but manages to escape.  Enter our heroine, Briony. She is in the area doing a circus/highwire show with her brothers.  She is one of the orphan girls that Dr Whitney did psychic experiments on –and she was adopted out around age 5.  Anyway, she stumbles across Jack and realizes they are both “enhanced.” She longs to learn more about what/who she is and because Jack is a psychic “anchor,” he mutes the loud blasting energy that always surrounds her. She gets him back to her room and nurses him back to health.

Despite his serious injuries, Jack and Briony’s attraction for each other cannot be denied and they sleep together.  Before his extraction, Jack breaks things off with her. He is harsh, believing she deserves better than him and he should sever all ties.  The thing is, he got her pregnant.  And once her doctor (who is also Whitney’s spy) finds out, she has to go on the run. She goes to Jack for protection.

In the course of the book, we confirm that Whitney has manipulated the Ghostwalker soldiers to match up with his former-orphan girls. Even worse, he has started breeding programs, where he didn’t bother to manipulate the women to feel the same attraction the men feel.

This book puts the first three in the series to shame. This one and the next one, Deadly Game are my very favorites. The Norton brothers are just the right blend of strength and tortured vulnerability.  The story is interesting. And the relationship building is masterful.  The sex scenes are way hot too. 

I loved it. 5 stars.